Defensive Edge is an amazing gym where our family of four enjoys a variety of classes, sometimes…read morewe get to train together. The staff genuinely cares about everyone's success. I've participated in the women's self-defense class, Fight Fit, women's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and traditional Gi Jiu-Jitsu, and I love them all! The gym offers something for everyone and has truly become our second home. It's helping teach my children discipline and humility while they have fun, learn self-defense, and stay active. We highly recommend it for individuals of all ages!

My son started at Defensive Edge a year ago. He loves the instructors. They show the kids each…read moremove a couple times, then have the kids practice. Each time giving them praise and feedback. Thanks for all you do!

I came across Safety Academy USA and after looking for a Women's Handgun & Self defense Class. I…read morewas thoroughly impressed with all the training that they had to offer. Their firearm safety course is extremely reasonable in price and is conveniently located in Beverly at the Cummings Center. Our instructors were Mike Pelonzi and Cory Daras. Mike has had several years under his belt in law enforcement experience and training. Cory Daras is a trained nurse, nurse educator and a Marine Veteran. She brings her passion for caring for others to a personalized gun safety course. Both Mike and Cory, with their sense of humor, delivered an exceptional firearm safety class. Mike and Cory are extremely passionate about firearm safety, public safety and very knowledgeable about past and current gun laws. Cory ensures that after you take her class you walk out with insight on personal safety, and situational awareness options to protect yourself and loved ones from potential threats. Mike and Cory's class was by far the best firearm safety training I have ever received. I look forward to going back to them for future firearms training as well as first aid and CPR training that the academy also provides. If you choose Safety Academy USA you will not be disappointed!

So recently moving from California to Massachusetts, I was searching for a place to take a firearms…read moresafety course. I came across Safety Academy USA and after looking at their website I was thoroughly impressed with all the training that they had to offer. Their firearm safety course is extremely reasonable in price and is conveniently located in Beverly at the Cummings Center. Our instructor was Mike Pelonzi. Mike has had several and I mean several years under his belt in law enforcement experience and training. Mike, along with his wicked sense of humor, delivered an exceptional firearm safety class. Mike is extremely passionate about firearm safety, public safety and very knowledgeable about past and current gun laws. Mike ensures that after you take his class you walk out with insight on gun safety, gun laws and other non lethal options to protect yourself and loved ones from potential threats. I've had many forms of firearm safety training back in California and Mike's class was by far the best firearm safety training I have ever received. I look forward to going back to Mike for future firearms training as well as first aid and CPR training that his academy also provides. If you choose Safety Academy USA you will not be disappointed!

The Self Defense is much more than a five star martial arts institute. My daughter has been…read moreinvolved with martial arts at The Self Defense Institute for over nine years and has enjoyed every minute. I have the highest respect for the wonderful and skilled schools instructors and their programs. Training at The Self Defense Institute has been been a positive influence in every aspect of my daughters life. The values of respect for family, striving for academic sucess and the actual self defense training have been invaluable to her. I could not possibly list all the ways that TSDI has positvely influenced her life, but through her years of training just to name a few, she has learned patience, compassion, self control, confidence and perserverance. She will carry these skills (as well as the memories of her friendships formed and her respect and gratefulness for her Shihans) with her always. I dont believe there is a better martial arts acadamy out there. Kudos to TSDI

From the owner: "Unleash your inner strength and cultivate self-confidence at The Self Defense Institute, a leading…read moremartial arts school in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Since 1999, we've empowered individuals of all ages, from 3 1/2 to 18 years and adults, with the skills and discipline to excel in martial arts and beyond."

Super welcoming and respectful. Even if you're nervous for your first class or a little anxious…read morebecause you're trying something out of your comfort zone. The coach and the team make that feeling go away instantly. The team has a great sense of humour and team chemistry you'll feel like you're at home within your first few weeks. You'll feel very welcomed and respected. Classes will be something you look forward to every time and will always end with an incredible feeling of being proud of yourself.

I've had a great experience training with the guys at Sambo 7…read more Due to the multi-faceted nature of Sambo, it's a great discipline for practitioners of other marital arts to learn new techniques that will round out their skill set. For individuals who are newer to marital arts the instructors know how to meet you where you're at, so that you will get stronger and learn how to defend yourself. The skills you learn can help you complete in multiple sport rulesets, such as Sambo, Judo, or Jujitsu. Point being no matter who you are you will likely learn something new and get stronger. Andrei and Nikos are knowledgeable, friendly and driven. They are incredibly experienced and have been great instructors. I've been practicing here for over two years and look forward to every class. I would highly recommend coming by and joining us.

I am 58 years old. I have been involved with martial arts since I was 8 years old. I have been to…read moremany schools over the years. I have been to some mediocre McDojo's and I have been taught by some of the best teachers in our area. I have to say that Pence Self Defense Academy is the best school that I have had the pleasure of attending. They have all the amenities that a good school should have but what separates them from their competitors is their uncompromising love of the art that they teach and the passion and dedication they have in passing the art along to the students. They love what they do and it shows. We have a lot of fun in the process of learning and the classes are open to everyone in a friendly and non judgemental environment. They offer anyone a free trial period. If you do not believe my review then try it out for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

Great Academy for young and old ran by incredible martial artists my grandson is7 years old and it…read morewas the best thing for him .

It's a great school for our child to learn how to protect, discipline himself and to be respectful,…read morehelpful to the others. My kid loves it. Sensei Seth teaches important life lessons along with karate.

From the owner: Sign up for our trial offer which includes uniform and belt!…read more "To provide personalized martial arts instruction to all students, regardless of ability, in an effort to increase self esteem, positive belief in ability."

Do not go here. The teachers/owners are good at what they do but so strict. My daughter went here…read morefor over a year and never did they speak to me about her behavior and then she had one hard day and they kicked her out. She is a 7 year old with ADHD and this was something she looked forward to every week. I watched her each week thrive there. I agree there should be consequences and am happy for her to sit out of class when asked. This was her first time and they emailed me and told me she was no longer welcome. They wouldn't speak to me over the phone about it. My daughter is now going to internalize their rejection with zero warnings. These are children here. I would understand if monthly she was asked to sit out but this is not the case. We were completely blindsided. Please do not use this business.

It is a TRAVESTY that there aren't a million 5 star reviews of this place. Very proud to be the…read morefirst. I've only been coming here for a few weeks at this point, but as a complete beginner I couldn't be having a better time. The website advertises "no egos" which is on point. The moment I walked through the door for the first time, one of the students comes over to say hi and introduce himself because he hasn't seen me before. Everyone I've worked with so far has been really cool and the more experienced guys will take things slow and easy and even let me pull off moves on them so I can get the feel for how it's supposed to work. Don't get me wrong, every class is a challenge both physically and mentally - but it's the kind of environment where you feel comfortable really pushing yourself. The great culture starts at the top with Owner/Professor Danny Morera and Co-Owner (slash Danny's wife) Angela. Just great people - knowledgeable, welcoming, helpful, friendly, and fun. There's always a lot of smiles and laughs, but when it's instruction time, they're appropriately serious and focused on making sure people learn the techniques safely and properly. If you're interested in learning jiu-jitsu, the advice I got from some experienced friends was to opt for a school led by an IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation) certified black belt, and registered with the IBJJF (you can look people and schools up on their website). There are a lot of places that would be happy to teach you "jiu-jitsu", but if you're going to put in the time and spend the money you probably want to do it right.

I can't recommend the Women's Self Defense classes enough! I have taken two now and plan to…read morecontinue with the series. There is so much to learn and you can never be too prepared. The instructors are great and provide hands on experience and real-life scenarios. SIGN UP FOR THE PEPPER SPRAY CLASS. You will be surprised by how much you don't know about using your pepper spray. The studio is a bit difficult to find and feels a little sketchy. I thought I would need to take a self defense class just to make my way into the studio. You're in the right place if you're in a dirt lot under the bridge around nothing else. Once inside, you can take these creepy industrial stairs up to the top floor or there is a massive elevator.

I have been training under Gershon ben Keren at Krav Maga Yashir since February 2012. In my opinion…read morethere are four reasons why Krav Maga Yashir Boston should receive serious consideration from anyone in the Boston area seeking to learn self-defense, learn a martial art, or simply vastly improve their physical fitness. Number 1 = Quality of instruction. This is the sine qua non of any martial arts school. Mr. ben Keren and his assistant instructors are professional, competent, and dedicated. Techniques are expertly demonstrated, remediated, and reinforced in a variety of partner-based and group-based drills. Students are always shown the "context" of a technique: what happens leading up to it, the purpose of each movement, and what happens afterwards. My belief is that when new students are able to perform a technique effectively on their first try, it actually reflects far more credit on the teacher than the learner. I see this happen all the time on the mats, and it speaks volumes for the knowledge and competency of the instructors. Number 2 = Krav Maga Yashir teaches the entire spectrum of violence, an area where other martial arts have major limitations. A striking art (boxing, muay thai, karate) may teach you to fight an imaginary assailant. A grappling art such as BJJ may teach you to escape from said assailant on the ground. Neither addresses the more important questions grounded in reality, such as: How did you get there? What if a knife or gun is involved? What if I accidentally trip and fall? Get taken by surprise? Get backed against a wall? Have a significant other I need to protect? Krav Maga Yashir teaches simple, direct, pragmatic solutions to all of the above, and more. Nobody needs to be Donnie Yen or Ronda Rousey to effectively defend themselves, and this school gives you the tools to do that. Number 3 = Value for your $$. Monthly membership rate is comparable to market rate for other area martial arts schools, and much lower than Crossfit gyms and other functional-fitness type places. The membership also gives free access to 5x-weekly cardio bootcamp classes, special outdoor training, and use of the gym at the studio. New workout equipment is constantly added and incorporated into the bootcamps, which themselves are a hell of a workout. Members also get first access to guest seminars with top outside Krav Maga instructors. Number 4 = Great social atmosphere. I'm always impressed by the respect, humility, and maturity of other students. It's very rare to have anyone beating on others in an attempt to be the tough guy, and such behavior is *never* tolerated. Students are all ages from 20s to 60s, all body types and fitness levels. Since all of class is partner or group based, you quickly pick up names and personalities of fellow students. Sometimes when you're on the brink of absolute physical exhaustion, you just can't help but look at each other and laugh at the insanity of it all. That's the kind of esprit that can't be faked, and a major reason I spend 10 hrs a week here without hesitation. Overall, Krav Maga Yashir gets my highest possible recommendation. I am constantly being that annoying guy urging my female friends to try it, and it's what I look forward to every day at work (when I'm not wasting time on Yelp reviews that will end up getting filtered anyway). You can try classes free for a week through the school website as well.

Excellent work out and great instruction on how to be a boxer. You go whenever you want during…read moreoperating hours and it is circuit style training. The main stations are rope, speed bags, and heavy bags. Jim has gloves for you to use until you invest in a pair if you like it. There's a boxing ring in the middle of the gym and you get in there and hit the mitts at the end of your work out. The atmosphere is supportive and the age ranges are 5-65+ Women and men boys and girls. It's a great little community of people working to get better each day with supportive coaching and great ownership. I could not be happier with this gym. A+++

I've been coming to this gym for a short period of time now, and its honestly one of the best…read moredecisions I've made in awhile. While I've always had a heavy bag you don't need any experience, and if I'm an example you're probably better off! I decided to give this place a try when I saw the "old school" fitness on the website. Fad diets will come and go, but honest hard work is always the answer. Yes it hurts to type it out.. Still true though Upon arriving I was greeted by Jim, and it's no mistake that his professional nick name was "Gentleman Jim". He showed me around, asked me some questions, and before I knew it he was already laying down an educational foundation. Being a newbie I forgot the schedule, and I accidently showed up during the one of the youth classes. He could have kindly asked me to come back in hour. Instead he showed me an area where I could begin to work, and not interfere with the kids time. It was during this time where I was in another room listening. Yes Jim has a business to run, and I'm sure those classes help that business, but make absolutely NO MISTAKE about it! That class was 1000% PASSION DRIVEN. Listening to Jim teaching those kids was an absolute joy, and I'm glad that I was able to be a part of that. We should all be so lucky to have something in our lives that we have that much passion in. When you decide to give this gym a try I have one small favor to ask. It's simple: just observe and listen. As people come in and out of the gym you will hear Jim call them all by their name. While remarkable in itself it really drives home that when you walk into his gym he is welcoming you into his home, and sharing his passion with you. I guarantee you will be grateful you decided to do this for yourself.